The countertenor, the highest male voice, is a relative newcomer to the world of opera, although the voicetype has been around for many centuries in church music, as the male alto. What has led to the development of the countertenor voice in recent decades is the renewed interest in the repertoire of Baroque composers, and in particular the re-evaluation and performance of the operas of Handel.
Although performance practise of today prefers countertenors for the performance of high male roles in Baroque opera, these were of course written for a different kind of voice: the castrato. What is the difference? The castrato voice was one that was curtailed at a certain point in time from developing (usually just before puberty, so as to stop the sudden change in a male speaking voice) and literally involved castration. (It is a practise that most of us can be relieved has stopped!) The last true castrato, Alessandro Moreschi, lived in Italy in the 19th century, and died in the early 20th century but not before a few early recordings had been made in 1902-3; these are the only known recordings of a castrato.
The countertenor voice, by contrast, is a natural phenomenon and uses a very specific part of the voice, that of purely “head” voice and the “falsetto” range. However, the true countertenor finds it perfectly natural to sing at this pitch, and the term “falsetto” undermines the true quality of this voice. The trend started with voices such as Alfred Deller and was continued with James Bowman and Michael Chance. In the early 1990s a new breed of countertenor emerged, capable of recreating the roles from Baroque opera, with a stronger tonal quality and extended range. Singers such as Andreas Scholl, David Daniels and Brian Asawa burst into the operatic firmament and the age of the countertenor had truly arrived.
|
Apart from the obvious castrati roles written by Handel and Monteverdi, one role in particular stands out as being the dream role of the countertenor. Written specifically for Alfred Deller, it is Oberon in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ranging from a low A to a high D the main solo “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows” utilises the voice expertly, with Britten’s deep understanding of Deller’s vocal attributes. Although modern countertenors may be happy to go higher than the D, the main range of the voice is slightly less than that of the baritone. The crucial aspect throughout this role is that the orchestration in this opera never masks or hides the voice. This is important, for unlike most operatic voices, the ethereal qualities of countertenor come at a price: a loss of power. That is not to say volume, but put a countertenor next to a baritone and the range and power of the voice is quite different.
Benjamin Britten wrote another opera for a countertenor, Death in Venice, containing the role of Apollo, but few composers until the last decade have ventured into this area. The main sources of countertenor repertoire remain within the small compass of Baroque opera from Monteverdi to Handel.
Ian Wilson-Pope
|
